One of the men suspected of poisoning Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury is a colonel in the Russian military intelligence service.

He was identified by British police earlier this month as Ruslan Boshirov but now an investigation by the organisation Bellingcat has revealed his real name is Anatoliy Vladimirovich Chepiga.

That name has been confirmed by Sky sources.

Chepiga, 39, is reported to have served in conflicts in Chechnya and Ukraine and was given Russia's highest state award - Hero of the Russian Federation - in 2014.

It was by decree of the president, possibly for his service in Ukraine.

Image:Sergei and Yulia Skripal were attacked with novichok in March

In a tweet that was later deleted, Britain's defence secretary Gavin Williamson posted: "The true identity of one of the Salisbury suspects has been revealed to be a Russian colonel. I want to thank all the people who are working so tirelessly on this case."

The Home Office said it could neither confirm nor deny the reporting about the suspect's real identity.

The British government has blamed Moscow for carrying out the novichok attack on former Russian double agent Mr Skripal and his daughter in the Wiltshire town on 4 March.

The pair were both left in a critical condition after being found slumped on a bench.

After being treated in hospital for several weeks they were later discharged and their current whereabouts are unknown.

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Video:The two suspects in the Salisbury novichok poisonings say they were merely tourists

The Kremlin has rejected claims it was involved in the nerve agent poisoning.

A few days after British police revealed the names Ruslan Boshirov and Alexander Petrov as the two suspects caught on CCTV near the Skripal home, the pair appeared on a Kremlin-backed TV station to deny they had anything to do with the attack.

They also denied being Russian agents and said they were only in Salisbury in early March as tourists to visit the cathedral and nearby Stonehenge.